Midfielder Ruler

Chapter 5 Opening Game and ‘Lecture’

At 9 a.m. local time on June 11 in Europe, as Japan, Portugal and Ghana arrived in Brazil to host the competition, all thirty-two teams for the 204 Brazil World Cup were in place.

The first to arrive is the Japanese national team. They will play their first group match with Russia in Cuiaba on the 17th. They will also be in the same group with Algeria and Belgium.

The Portuguese national team, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, arrived in Campinas, more than 100 kilometers away from Sao Paulo, where they will prepare for the first group match of the World Cup in the next few days, against the German team.

Just after arriving in Campinas, head coach Paulo Pinto was full of confidence in an interview with local Brazilian media: "Coming late does not mean that we do not attach importance to the World Cup. Just as being the earliest does not necessarily mean we will win the final championship, so we who came late do not necessarily mean that we do not take the World Cup seriously. Gotta get the last piece of cake!”

There is no doubt that the 'last piece of cake' mentioned by Paul Pinto is the final winner of this World Cup!

Portugal's number one star and captain Cristiano Ronaldo spoke almost exactly the same as head coach Paulo Pinto. He said in an interview: "I was in very good shape in the past 203-204 season, and I had a group of very good teammates. Do you believe we have a reason to have the last laugh and win the championship? Why not? Just because we entered the World Cup in Brazil through the play-offs?"

Cristiano Ronaldo is very domineering, but his past 203-204 season was really outstanding.

La Liga Golden Boot and Champions League Golden Boot!

The Champions League set a new single-season scoring record, so no media made targeted satire on him, not even the domestic media of the seeded German team.

Ghana was the latest team to arrive in Brazil among the 32 teams, but because its overall strength was not enough to compete for the championship, it did not attract much attention.

It is worth mentioning that Australia, which represents Asia in the World Cup, is the most active team in this World Cup. They arrived in Curitiba, a city in southern Brazil, on the 28th of last month to prepare for their first World Cup group match against Chile. .

Closer to home, the opening match of the 20th FIFA World Cup in 2044 started at 6pm local time in Brazil at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, but there was a grand opening ceremony before that.

The Corinthians Arena is the home stadium of the Brazilian giants Corinthians. It can accommodate 68,000 people. It is also one of the few multi-functional stadiums in Sao Paulo, but its main function is football matches.

There are still several hours before the opening ceremony, and the squares around the Corinthians Arena are already filled with enthusiastic Brazilian fans.

Brazil, everyone calls it the kingdom of football.

However, the World Cup is a gluttonous feast for fans from all over the world. The fans gathered at the Corinthians Arena are not all Brazilian fans. There are also many fans from all over the world. They are passionate and unrestrained and devote themselves wholeheartedly to creating a fanatical atmosphere.

Chinese fans are also paying attention to the opening ceremony of the World Cup, but they are more concerned about the Chinese team's first group match of this World Cup.

Cote d'Ivoire is the first group stage opponent of the Chinese team, and Chinese fans of the Cote d'Ivoire national team are quite familiar with it. The Toure brothers, Kalou and Drogba who once played for Chelsea, and the winger Ger who played for Roma. Vinio.

In fact, the impact of this team is no longer as strong as the previous two World Cups. Drogba's peak period has long passed, and the Toure brothers have also declined in form as they age. Only Gervinho's form reassures the domestic media in Cote d'Ivoire.

However, Cote d'Ivoire's attack from the right will most likely pose a huge threat to the Chinese team's defense on the left. Right back Aurier and right winger Gervinho cooperate tacitly. They are strong and fast. If playing for Swansea, Center Bony can find his form and he will most likely open the door to victory for Côte d'Ivoire.

Chinese domestic media share the same hatred.

While Lippi's team is studying Cote d'Ivoire, they are also making plans outside the court and sharing the worries of the national team.

The Greek team that the Chinese team will face for the second time in the group stage is also within the scope of the Chinese media's research. However, compared to Cote d'Ivoire, the Greek team has very few famous players. Most of them are from their own leagues. The most famous one is undoubtedly the one in the summer of 203 Papastathopoulos moved to Dortmund.

Due to his position, Papastathopoulos only affects the Chinese team's offense and does not put much pressure on the defense.

Besides, Lu Liang and Yan Junling, who play for Dortmund, are very familiar with Papastathopoulos. Lu Liang and Yan Junling, who have trained together for a season in the past, know the characteristics of Papastathopoulos quite well and can help the national team coach. Come for inspiration.

In addition, the domestic media has also noticed that most of the players in the Greek national team are from the domestic giant Olympiacos. Playing together as teammates all year round will definitely not be lacking in tacit understanding.

Therefore, the domestic media warned Chinese team players not to underestimate the Greek national team, which is not well-known but has balanced strength.

There are no weak teams in Europe, and the Greek team only ranked second in the group with a goal difference disadvantage.

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Football has no national boundaries, and this is even more true at the opening ceremony of the 204 World Cup in Brazil at the Corinthians Arena. Brazil, as the host, made players around the world feel their unique love.

The opening ceremony of every World Cup attracts a lot of attention from the media and fans. Especially the 2000 World Cup in South Africa gave the world a wonderful experience, so the 204 World Cup in Brazil will inevitably make fans look forward to it.

The opening ceremony started on time at 2:30 pm local time in Brazil, but the first people to enter the fans' field of vision were the big players in the political arena.

Not long after, the opening ceremony of the World Cup was officially announced with the loud shouts of Brazilian female president Rousseff. The huge spherical LED display hanging in the center of the Corinthians Arena welcomed everyone with the words of the thirty-two participating countries of the World Cup. It seems unique and thoughtful.

It is worth mentioning that this huge LED display is composed of 90,000 LED lights and can create a brightness of 7,000 nits.

Immediately, the screen turned, showing the scene when the universe was created.

Local actors from Sao Paulo work together to show wonderful scenes from the beginning of the world. The content is quite rich, including the convergence of rivers, changes in landforms, the gradual emergence of plants and animals, and the birth of human beings.

Immediately afterwards, actors from the Guaraní, Brazil’s oldest ethnic group, appeared in the center of the venue.

As the music sounded, enthusiastic Brazilian dancers showed off various Brazilian dances in the venue.

The dance that set off the enthusiastic atmosphere was naturally the well-known samba. Brazilian girls wearing white tops and red skirts swayed with their graceful postures full of youth, vitality and passion.

The finale is the powerful Brazilian war dance, which is a unique dance between art and countless, and is also one of the national skills of Brazil.

Brazilian art and dance were vividly displayed in the 20th World Cup. The opening ceremony was so creative that the fans sitting in front of the TV felt like they were immersed in the scene, feeling the enthusiasm of the Brazilian people...

According to official data, the 20th FIFA World Cup in 2044 was transmitted to 200 countries or regions around the world through satellite signals. There were 160 TV stations broadcasting it live, and more than 3 billion fans watched the live broadcast on TV or the Internet. , reaching the highest level in history.

The entire opening ceremony is divided into three parts. The first two parts allow fans to experience the customs and people of Brazil.

However, many real fans don't like the so-called opening ceremony. Although it is full of creativity, what they pay most attention to is the opening game, which is the last part of the opening ceremony. Brazil plays Croatia at home in the first game of the 204 Brazil World Cup.

Before that, there was a rather unexpected kick-off ceremony.

The referee who entered the field first blew his whistle before the players had warmed up. Sixty-four children representing the thirty-two participating countries appeared on the field as football elves, which was full of pictures.

A huge Brazilian flag slowly descended from the stadium roof, then stayed next to the star display, and then a disabled man named Juliano Pinto wore a special device to kick off the World Cup.

Finally, the star screen slowly opened and turned into a circular performance stage.

Latin queen Jennifer Lopez walked on the red carpet and strolled onto the performance stage to sing the theme song of this World Cup

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As the beautiful singing voice of Latin queen Jennifer Lopez slowly disappeared from the Corinthians Arena, the second stage of the opening ceremony of the Brazilian World Cup came to an end and then entered the third stage.

Tang Zheng, who never liked watching such artistic performances, did not watch the live broadcast of the opening ceremony. He waited until the match between Brazil and Croatia started before turning on the TV. After all, he had teammates in both teams.

Marcelo is the main left back of the Brazilian team, and Modric is the core of Croatia's midfield.

The first thing that stood out to Tang Zheng was not the game itself, but the appearance ceremony of the Brazilian players.

From the moment captain Thiago Silva comes on the scene, the Brazilian players who follow him onto the court will stretch out their right hands and put them on the right shoulders of their teammates in front, which can easily give people a sense of unity.

The Brazilian fans at the Corinthians Arena felt particularly excited when they saw this scene, so much so that the chants that resounded throughout the stadium escalated to deafening levels. Even Tang Zheng, who was sitting in front of the TV watching the live broadcast of the game, frowned. , had to turn down the volume.

As the host team, Brazil, the five stars on their left chest are an honor but also a kind of pressure.

Although the Brazilian players participating in this World Cup cannot be said to be the worst in history, they can definitely be said to be the most mediocre.

Among the starting frontcourt offensive players, except for Neymar and Oscar, who have a certain degree of popularity, center Fred has a relatively low reputation in the world. Among the two defensive midfielders, only Gustavo is relatively famous in the Bundesliga. Paulinho's popularity is limited to Brazil. .

How can such a mediocre Brazilian national team continue the football kingdom's sixth championship?

Even at home, the domestic media in Brazil are not particularly optimistic about the Brazilian team winning the championship.

Therefore, every player is under tremendous pressure, and the team hopes to use this united approach to bring confidence and hope to each other.

Isn’t this how the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup came about?

Not long after, the game started. The Brazilian team playing at home had not yet exerted its strength, but Croatia took the lead.

With the three midfield talents of Modric, Rakitic and Kovacic, Croatia's midfield configuration is not inferior to that of any national team. Forwards Mandzukic and Jelavic have rich game experience.

If you look at the strength of the lineup alone, Croatia may even surpass Brazil.

In the tenth minute of the game, the first goal of this World Cup was scored.

Modric launched an offensive in the midfield, and Perisic made a pass from the left. Jelavic moved forward slightly, changing the direction of the football. Marcelo, who was actively returning to defense, accidentally blocked the ball into his own door.

No one thought that the first goal of this World Cup would come from an own goal...

The home team Brazil unexpectedly lost 0: behind the grid team Croatia.

I don’t know if the unexpected goal loss completely ignited the desire to fight in the Brazilian players. They took over the game directly by virtue of their home advantage, and once held Croatia in their own half for a half-time offensive drill.

In the 28th minute of the game, Neymar, wearing the No. 10 jersey, helped Brazil equalize the score!

Tang Zheng, who was watching the live broadcast, shook his head and was puzzled by Rakitic's mistake. The ball should have been released in time from his position, because once the ball was intercepted by the opponent, the defense would be in danger.

Neymar, who got the ball, was extremely capable. He used his speed and technical advantages to break through to the edge of the penalty area and hit a low shot, scoring the 32nd goal of his national team career.

Although Neymar is only 22 years old this year, he has very rich experience in the national team. This game is his 50th time playing for the Brazilian national team. He is the youngest player in the history of the Brazilian national team to reach 50 national team games. players.

Perhaps inspired by the goal, Neymar's performance in the next game skyrocketed, leaving the midfield trio composed of Modric, Rakitic and Kovacic unable to focus on offense.

In this way, the mediocre Brazilian national team took advantage of their home court to overpower Croatia.

But there is not no good news for Croatia. Until the end of the first half, the score did not change.

During the intermission, Lu Liang, who was watching the opening game of the World Cup in the hotel where he stayed, curiously asked Tang Zheng: "Brother Zheng, who do you think will win?"

"Who will win?" Tang Zheng thought for a moment: "If nothing else happens, the Brazilian team will win the game."

"Is it because of the home advantage?" Lu Liang remembered that Tang Zheng's analysis before the game was that Croatia would have a high probability of winning.

"No, no, no, it's about the on-the-spot performance and the players' fighting spirit." Tang Zheng said clearly, and at the same time denied what he said before: "Before, I made an analysis based on the lineups of both sides, but as the game progressed, the Brazilian players performed very well. Turning pressure into motivation, Croatia was worried about gains and losses and became less confident."

Having said this, Tang Zheng looked at his other teammates: "So we must not doubt ourselves without any basis during the game. Being able to reach the World Cup has proven our strength! Colombia is strong, but Cote d'Ivoire and Greece can give it a try." Yes, what do you think?"

What Tang Zheng said made sense, and his teammates sitting in the room watching the game nodded.

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